Volodymyr Zelensky cautiously welcomed Vladimir Putin’s offer to pause fighting but insisted there must first be a full, temporary ceasefire in place before any negotiations can start.
The Ukrainian leader reiterated that “the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.”
The US President, writing on Truth Social several hours after Putin’s remarks, said that it was “a potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!”
“Think of the hundreds of thousands of lives that will be saved as this never ending ‘bloodbath’ hopefully comes to an end,” the US President wrote in a later post overnight.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with US President Donald Trump during Pope Francis’s funeral at the Vatican (Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine)Ukraine already succumbed to Trump’s demands, signing a crucial memorandum with the US over a controversial minerals deal at the White House’s insistence.
His Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, issued a socal media post suggesting this was still the case and that the US would side with Kyiv that a temporary ceasefire was needed first.
All eyes will now be on how Trump responds to Kyiv and Moscow moving forward and whether he will decide that Putin is simply stringing him along and finding excuses not to agree to a full ceasefire.
Putin’s demands
With Russian forces grinding forward, the Kremlin chief has offered few, if any, concessions so far.
But Putin in his remarks overnight rejected the offer and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead “without preconditions.” He said a ceasefire might be agreed on during the negotiations.
Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping attend Moscow’s military parade (Photo: Ria Novosti via Reuters)Putin has been firm that he wants a firm understanding that Ukraine will never join Nato or the European Union – preferring that Ukraine return to Moscow’s orbit and become more submissive towards Moscow like its fellow former Soviet neighbour, Belarus.
He said he did not rule out both sides agreeing in Turkey on “some new truces, a new ceasefire” – but one that would be the first step towards a “sustainable” peace.
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Read MoreDuring the call Sunday, Erdogan said a “historic turning point” had been reached in efforts to end the war, according to a statement from the Turkish presidential communications office.
Erdogan also said he welcomed Putin’s statement regarding the resumption of peace talks in Istanbul.
The Kremlin’s counteroffer came after leaders from four major European countries threatened to ratchet up pressure on Moscow if it does not accept an unconditional 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine that they offered on Saturday in a strong show of unity with Kyiv.
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